Aemetis announces “key biogas milestone”

Aemetis, a renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable fuels company focused on low and negative carbon intensity products, has announced that its Aemetis Biogas subsidiary completed a key milestone of constructing and operating dairy digesters with a capacity to produce more than 300,000 MMBtu of renewable natural gas (RNG) per year.
Additionally, the planned construction of new digesters is expected to increase the annual RNG production rate to over 800,000 MMBtu by the third quarter of 2025, more than a 150% increase from the current production rate.
Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis, Inc., said: “Our commercial revenue generation from selling RNG for transportation began in January 2023, and we have already grown to a production rate of more than 300,000 MMBtu per year, which generates revenues of about $13 million per year in today’s markets prior to receiving LCFS Provisional pathway approvals, prior to expected increased revenue from expanded LCFS credit mandates in November of this year, and prior to transferable 45Z tax credits starting in January 2025.”
He continued: “We have already closed $50 million of 20-year USDA guaranteed funding for the biogas project and achieved positive cash flow from biogas operations, and we are working to close an additional $75 million of USDA-guaranteed construction funding this year.”
The California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits generated by Aemetis Biogas are currently based on a negative 150 Default pathway carbon intensity (CI).
The CI is expected to decrease to below negative 320 CI when CARB approves Provisional pathways for each digester.
The revenue generated from LCFS credits earned at the improved CI of the Provisional pathway will be approximately 85% more than the default pathway revenue.
Aemetis has designed its RNG production infrastructure for cost-effective expansion.
An Aemetis-owned pipeline transports biogas from dairy digesters to a centralized RNG upgrading facility at the Aemetis Keyes ethanol plant.
Aemetis has already installed 36 miles of biogas pipeline and has an additional 24 miles of pipeline approved under the CEQA environmental process for a total of 60 miles of biogas gathering pipeline.